4 Fallen Soldiers In Benefit Fiasco Were On Special Ops Mission, Officials Say

The four fallen American soldiers whose families were denied a benefit because of the government shutdown were killed in a devastating series of explosions during a Special Operations mission in Afghanistan, U.S. military officials told NBC News on Thursday.

The mission was an attempt to capture a “high-value target” and take down what was described by the officials as a “bomb factory” for improvised explosives and suicide vests, the officials said.

Thirteen other soldiers were wounded in the mission, they said, many seriously.

The bodies of the four fallen soldiers were returned Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, met by families and by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, among other dignitaries.